"I strongly recommend that all expectant parents ask their doctor about the lifesaving potential of cord blood... Today, cord blood is being used to treat such life-threatening diseases as leukemia and other cancers, as well as certain blood and immune disorders that formerly necessitated a bone marrow transplant."

Dr. Marianne Neifert, Pediatrician
Baby Talk Magazine, October 1997

"The promise of stem cells in the prevention and treatment of many diseases, including cancer, is so immense that it would be almost irresponsible for research on this technology to be marginalized... [We] should also never lose sight of the tremendous life-saving possibilities of this technology."

Statement of Dr. Joseph Bailes, President Elect of the American Society of Clinical Oncology before the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, April 21, 1999

"...Some might argue that there is little to lose (except money) by freezing one's cord-blood cells. If they are needed, fine; if not, even better."

Robert Peter Gale, M.D., Ph.D.
Executive Committee Past Chair International Bone Marrow Transplant Registry (IBMTR)

THE PROMISE OF CORD BLOOD

"Just like we didn't envision the powers of PCs thirty years ago, we may not be seeing all the uses of cord blood yet."

LeeAnn Jensen, M.D.
Immunologist National Institutes of Health

"Someday, collecting placental-umbilical cord blood may be as routine as it is unusual now...[It's] an opportunity to have the blood kept after delivery as biological insurance for the child."

Journal of the National Cancer Institute, February 1, 1995

BENEFITS OF CORD BLOOD

"About 40% of the desperately ill patients who need bone marrow transplants never get them, because a donor who is an exact match can't be found through family connections or by the National Marrow Donor Program. Two reports in the July 18, 1996, New England Journal of Medicine strongly suggest that many of these patients could be helped by transplants of stem cells from placental [cord] blood, which is routinely discarded after babies are delivered."

"Top Ten Medical Advances of 1996," The Harvard Health Letter, March 1997, Vol. 22, No. 5

"Recipients of cord-blood transplants from HLA-identical siblings have a lower incidence rate of acute and chronic GVHD than recipients of bone marrow transplants from HLA-identical siblings."

Vanderson Rocha, M.D., John E. Wagner, Jr. , M.D., Eliane Gluckman, M.D., et. al.
New England Journal of Medicine, June 22, 2000

"The ultimate goal is for all usable umbilical cord blood to be banked in a national cord blood [bank] similar to the National Bone Marrow Donor Program or saved for an individual's or family's own potential use. The latter may prove especially significant for those with a family history of leukemia or cancer or for minority ethnic patients."

Nursing Spectrum, February 24, 1997

FUTURE USE

"A really exciting area that's just now in the basic science lab, is the area where stem cells ...can be used for going over to muscle cells like your heart muscle if you had a heart attack...or brain cells if you had Parkinson's Disease...Hopefully, in 20 or 30 or 40 years...these might be potential applications for stem cells including umbilical cord blood stem cells."

Dr. Stanton Goldman, Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist and stem cell transplant Physician, Medical City, Dallas, Texas

"Through cultivation of stem cells extracted from the cord blood, patients with spinal injuries have a great chance of having their damaged nervous system repaired, helping them to rise on their feet again."

Chiang Yung-hsiao, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman of Neurosurgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, Tapei, Taiwan

"[Cord blood stem cells] might be suitable for transplantation in neurodegenerative diseases, gene delivery to the central nervous system, and repair of brain and spinal cord injuries."

Juan R. Sanchez-Ramos, Shijie Song, Siddharth G. Kamath, et. al.
Experimental Neurology, 171, 2001

INFANT USE OF OWN STEM CELLS

"As a result of numerous preclinical and clinical studies supporting the feasibility and efficacy of umbilical cord blood transplantation, there has been a growing interest in the large-scale collection of umbilical cord blood stem cells for future self-use by the infant....This service should be made available to individuals who feel a greater security knowing that they have stored their child's stem cells for future use if necessary."

Wagner, J.
The Journal of Hematotherapy, February 1997, Vol. 6, No. 1

CORD BLOOD AND ADULT USE

"Umbilical-cord blood from unrelated donors can restore hematopoiesis in adults who receive myeloablative therapy and is associated with acceptable rates of severe acute and chronic GVHD."

Mary J. Laughlin, M.D., Juliet Barker, M.D., Barbara Bambach, M.D., et. al. New England Journal of Medicine, June 14, 2001

Health Care Professional Testimonials

Here is what health care professionals have to say:

"I wanted to take the opportunity to thank you for the service your company provided one of my patients. We had a patient come to our unit suffering from leukemia who delivered quickly and needed to have her cord blood banked as quickly as possible. There was an urgency to this case that tugged at everyone's hearts and your employees...went out of their way to help this family. My nursing staff was so impressed by...(your) response that they were singing their praises to me. We are always so focused on what our patients need and it is such a pleasure to work with others who also are committed to providing true care to patients. That is what...(you) did. Thanks from my staff and myself."

Laura Sera, RN
Patient Care Manager Center for Mother's and Newborns, UCSF
Children's Hospital

"I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease least year and was like anyone else overwhelmed with the treatment process. As a mother of one, I wish that I was made aware of the wonderful option to bank cord blood when my son was born. I have vowed to myself and the memory of those who have had similar experiences like mine to dedicate my time and energy in educating health professionals and parents-to-be on the importance of banking with the Cord Blood Registry! Take it from someone who knows, bank your baby's cord blood, it could save a life, even your own!"

Heidi A. Blackledge, LPN, CCE

"It is obvious to me in my practice and in my discussions with other patients that the group most ready to choose private cord blood banking for their own pregnancies are physicians. And many are pediatricians.

R. Nathan Slotnick, M.D., Ph.D.
Director of Reproductive Genetics, Division of Maternal-Fetal
Medicine, Eastern Virginia Medical School

"As a critical care nurse I am in the business of helping people in times of crisis every day. The technology of cord blood banking gives me a chance to make a difference proactively.

I am a firm believer in 'always being prepared.' The possibilities for the future in gene therapy using cord blood are exciting. I can't wait to see previously chronic diseases become curable."

Janine Henson, RN